Rim forming and flanging machine.



F. L. SESSIONS.

RIM FORMING AND FLAN'GING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-27, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Patented Mar. 13, 1917 ms Nrmms an": rn nuamu "0a.. WASHING mu. 0.

F. L. SESSIONS.

RIM FORMING AND FLANGING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED AUG-27. I913.

4 SHEETS-SHEETZ.

1,21 9,174. Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

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RIM FORMING AND FLANGING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man AuG.27. 1913.

1,21 9,174. PatenfedMar. 13, 1917.

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RIM FORMING AND FLANGING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED Aue.21, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

.Ztiorzzzys UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIGE.

FRANK L. SESSIONS, OF LAKEWOOD, OHIO/ASSIGNOR. TO THE STANDARD WELDING COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

'RIM FORMING AND FLANGING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mar, 13 191% Application filed August 27, 1913. Serial No. 786,900.

To all whom it may concern:

V with flange rolling.

Be it known that I, FRANK L. SESSIONS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Lakewood, county of Cnyahoga, and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rim. Forming and Flanging Machines, of which the following is'a specification, the principal of the invention being herein explained and the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle, so as to distinguish it from other inventions.

The present invention relates to machines for forming rims and for rolling flanges on the same. By rims is, of course meant the annular bands which are now used in such large quantities as felly-bands for vehicle wheels and as bases for flexible tires, although the machine is of course not limited to use in this precise connection. It is customary in this art to form the rim out of an annulus or band of flat stock by rolling the rim circumferentially between suitable rollers which are of course constructed to properly form the finished rim. In rolling flanges out of such bands it is desirable to hold the band between two properly constructed and cooperating rollers and to then tilt or swing it through substantially 90 degrees about the part which is held between the rollers as a center. In this operation the band is rolled into a flange or disk. The present machine has to do with a combination of the two operations which have just been referred to and also brings in certain novel features in the construction of that part of the machine which has to do The machine which I have constructed is readily convertible to operate to either form rims or flanges, the main portion of the machine being permanent and being adapted to perform each of these two operations. ment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then. consistsof the means hereinafter fully described and pz'n'ticularly pointed out in the claim.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth-in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawings Figure l-is a front elevation of the presward.

To the accomplishthe other end of the base.

ent machine when set up to perform the flange rolling operation but showing in dotted outline certain mechanism which is present and operating during the rim forming operation; Fig. 2 is a side velevation'of the machine shown in Fig. 1 with certain formed on the present machine.

The general construction of the machine can best be seen from Figs. 1 and 2, there being a suitable base or frame 1 provided with uprights 2. In the uprights there are mounted two parallel horizontally disposed shafts 3 and 4, the shaft 3 being vertically above the shaft 4. The shaft 3 is suitably mounted in a guide 5 which is s-lidably held in a guidewa-y 6 extending vertically up- The guide 5 is controlled by means of a suitable hydraulic plunger 7 by means ofwhich the elevation of the shaft 3 may be varied to suit the operation which is being performed, although it is always maintained parallel to the shaft 4. Upon these two shafts 3 and 4 are mounted the operating rolls 8 and 9 which may ofcourse be of various forms depending upon what operation upon the rim is being performed. The rolls which are shown in Figs. land 2 are designed to roll a grooved band into. a flan e the lower roll 9 thus being provided with a groove 10 and the upper roll 8 having a rounded circumferential projection 11 adapted to depress the band into the groove 10 in the roll 9. The shafts 3 and 4 upon which the rollers are mounted extend rear-- wardly across the top of the base, being suitably journaled in a second upright 12 at The shaft 4 has attached thereto at its rear end a gear 13 operated by a gear 60 on a main driving shaft 14. The drive is communicated to the shaft 3 by means of a gear 15 mounted on the shaft 4 and engaging with a gear 16 mounted on a shaft 17 which is disposed parallel with shafts 3 and 4. On the shaft 3 there is mounted a gear 18, the gears 16 and 18' being engaged by a gear 19 which is rotatably mounted upon a pin 20, the pin 20 serving I to rotatahly connect two links 21 and 22 which are respectively rotatably mounted upon shafts 3 and 17. As the shaft 3 is thus raised or lowered by means of the hydraulic press the drive is maintained through the gearing which has just been described, the links serving to prevent disengagement of gears 18 and 19 and of gears 16 and The frame 1 and the upright 2 are provided with a plurality of pairs of laterally extending spaced arms or jaws 25. When the machine is being used to form rims, guide bearings in the form of suitable rollers 26 are adjustably and removably mounted between these pairs of, arms, such guide bearings serving to receive the band which is placed between the rolls 8 and 9 and to maintain the same in proper position during the forming of the rim. To operate the machine as a rim forming machine a band is inserted as just described between the revolving rolls 8 and 9 and resting upon the guide bearings inthe arms referred to. The roll 8 is then depressed and is slowly moved downward during the opera ion, thus pressing the rim to any desired shape, such for eX- ample as the channel section shown in Fig. 5.

To adapt the machine to roll flanges it is necessary to make certain modifications in the assembly and to add certain mechanism which has not yet been described. For this purpose it is necessary to provide means for tilting the band about that part of itself which is held between the forming rolls as assembled, and'to perform this operation I provide a supporting member or table 30 which is pivotally mounted about horizontal bearings 31 which are removably mounted in the iower pairs of arms 25, the guide bearing members 26 for the rim first being removed therefrom. Such table 30 is provided with a plurality of rollers 32 which are set into the face of the table and are adapted to receive the pressure of the flange being formed upon the tilting of the table, thus reducing the friction between the flange V and the table as much as possible.

Attached to the tabie 30 is an arm 84 having an arcuate periphery extending circiunferentially about the bearing members 31 as a center.- Attached to the end of this arm is a cable 85 which passes along a groove 36 in the periphery of the arm and is led over a sheave 37 rotatably mounted adjacent to the bottom of the base 1. From the sheave 37 the cable is led over a second or winding sheave 38, such last-named sheave having attached thereto a gear 39 which is rotated by means of a worm t0, the worm 40 being attached to a shaft 41, and such shaft having attached thereto a double clutch member 42. This double clutch member is controlled by means of a handle or operating lever 4C3 and is adapted to engage is interposed between gears 46 and 4:8 thus reversing the drive through the gears. v

It will be understood that the weight of the supporting table 30 will be so proportioned with respect to the weight of the extending arm 3i that the center of gravity of the table will he very close to the plate 30, thus causing the latter to swing normally into a substantially vertical position- At the begin- 11mg of an operation the rolls 8 and 9 are such as is shown in Fig.

spaced a suflicient distance apart so that the annulus to be operated upon may be inserted between the same irrespective of the precise position of the table 30 although in case it is necessary that the latter be exactly vertical in order that the annulus be received between the rolls, the operator may manually press the table 30 into an exactly vertical position, as indicated in Fig. 2.

The operation of the machine as a flange rolling machine will be readily understood, a grooved band being placed between the rolls 8 and 9 which are of the forms shown in Figs; 1 and 2, the band resting laterally against the rollers 32 on the face of the supporting member or table 30. The upper roll 8 is then moved downward by means of the hydraulic press until it engages the upper surface of the band when it is rotated by means of the gearing already described which operates irrespective of the horizon, tal level at which the shaft and roll are rotate-d reversely allowing the table to swing downward into its original substantially vertical position.

The length and Weight of the shaft 3 are so great that it is desirable to provide means for maintaining the rear end of this shaft at exactly the same elevation as the forward end, and hence I attach to this shaft a second shaft 65 provided with gears .66 and 52 operating agalnst racks 53and 54 attached to the forward and rear uprights. In this way the motion of the forward and the rear ends of these two shafts are so correlated that there is no binding in the guide-way, the shafts moving in either direction without trouble. In order to lock the shafts in any desired position, I provide a rod which may be reciprocated to enter between the teeth of the rack, said rod preventing the opposing tooth of the gear 52 from entering the rack and thus maintain the wheel and consequently the shafts in any desired position.

The ease with which this machine may be converted from a rim forming machine to a flange rolling machine will be at once evident from the foregoing description, the only changes which are necessary being the substitution of proper rollers, the removal of the bearings in the laterally extending arms and the connecting up of the clutch mechanism which operates the swinging table. The machine will serve equally Well for either operation, and it presents in a single mechanism the advantages found in two machines each designed for a single operation.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I show various other annular bands which have been formed in the present mechanism, Fig. 7 showing one type, the use being unimportant, and Fig. 8 illustrating a second rim sometimes required. I do not, of course, limit myself to any specific use for my invention as the .various products illustrated will indicate, as any desired types of rolls may be used, depending on the nature of annulus which it is desired to produce.

When operating as a rim forming machine it will not always be necessary to use four guide rollers, as for the smaller bands the two lower rollers will be sufficient as they may of course be adjusted laterally to correspond to the precise dimensions of the band being operated upon. Since all of these guide rollers function in the same way the number used will be seen to be a matter of little importance so long as the general operation is unchanged.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead'of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by the following claim or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention In a machine of the character described, the combination of two horizontally disposed cooperative rolls having parallel axes and being adapted to receive therebetween an annular band, means adapted to vary the distance between the axes of said rolls, driving means for one of said rolls, a supporting member pivotally mounted about an axis transverse to the axes of said rolls and lying between the latter, said member being adapted to receive said annular band, said member normally depending in a substantially vertical position, an arm attached to said supporting member and having an arcuate periphery formed about the axes of said member as a center, acable engaging over such arcuate periphery of said arm and attached to one end of said arm, and means adapted to operate said cable, thereby swinging said memher to a substantially horizontal position.

Signed by me this 25th day of August,

FRANK L. SESSIONS. Attested by H. B. FAY, A. L. GILL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

